Silver-leaf nightshade

• Erect, multi-stemmed plant up to 60cm tall.
• Stems dieback over winter.
• Leaves are 5-10cm long, wavy edges, silvery-green with paler undersides.
• Spines are short brown, approximately 5mm long, occur on the stems and petioles.
• Flowers are up to 25mm in diameter, have 5 purple or white petals with 5 yellow stamens 5-7mm in length.
• Berries are green-striped, round, smooth, commonly 1cm in diameter which turn yellow-orange when ripe.
• Seeds are rounded, flattened, light-brown with irregular surface, 2.5-4mm wide.
• Roots create an interconnecting network with neighbouring plants to form a colony.
• Roots can penetrate to depths of 2m.

• Can grow in most soil types.

• Visit the Weeds Australia website and click on the distribution tab to access the distribution map.

• Usually flowers in November and can continue to March.
• Plants are dormant in winter when stems dieback will reshoot in spring.
• Berries are produced from December-March.
• Seedlings emerge at any time from late spring until autumn depending on rainfall.
• Will regrow from any root segment.

Environmental

• Replaces native Solanum species.

Economic

• Reduces summer crop yields.
• Reduces annual pastures such as clover and rye.
• All parts of the plant are poisonous, especially the fruit.
• Costly to control.

• Spread from root fragments.
• Spread by seed carried by birds.

• Find out how farmers can prevent weed spread.
• Find out how gardeners and outdoor enthusiasts can prevent weed spread.

Silver-leaf nightshade colonies are not easily controlled as the extensive interconnecting root systems are difficult to totally control. It has a tremendous capacity to regenerate from root fragments. Colonies can re-establish even though they may have been controlled several seasons. Good farm hygiene is critical to prevent the spread of seed and root fragments.

Herbicide control

• To date there is no herbicide to eradicate a silver-leaf nightshade colony with a single application. Colonies need to be suppressed and run down with persistent control which includes annual herbicide applications to prevent berry set.

Biological control

• No known biological control agents.

• Silver-leaf nightshade is a category 3 restricted invasive plant under the Biosecurity Act 2014.
• You must not give away, sell or release silver-leaf nightshade into the environment. Penalties may apply.
• You must take all reasonable and practical measures to minimise the biosecurity risks associated with dealing with silver-leaf nightshade under your control. This is called a general biosecurity obligation (GBO).
• At a local level, each local government must have a biosecurity plan that covers invasive plants  in its area. This plan may include actions to be taken on silver-leaf nightshade. Some of these actions may be required under local laws. Contact your local government for more information.